Long-form notes on Georgian tourism, hospitality, and the road from Tbilisi.https://www.soitblack.com/enhttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-trip-cost/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-trip-cost/How much does a trip to Georgia cost? The official survey puts the average visit at 2 187 ₾ over 5.6 nights. The visa and insurance rules, and getting around priced three ways, flights excluded.Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-kutaisi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-kutaisi/Tbilisi to Kutaisi airport by train, airport bus or car: the timetables and fares, the hour to leave Tbilisi for a morning flight, and what the drive costs with a driver.Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-from-dubai/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-from-dubai/Planning a Georgia trip from Dubai: who needs a visa and who does not, the direct flights from Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, what three or five days cost with a driver, the 2026 insurance rule, and when to come.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-to-batumi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-to-batumi/A Tbilisi airport to Batumi transfer is about 375 kilometres and five and a half hours on the road, priced as a full day. What it costs, when the train or a night in Tbilisi makes more sense, and when to book a different flight.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/seven-days-in-georgia-by-car/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/seven-days-in-georgia-by-car/One week, one country, and a route that does not spend half of it in transit. The common mistake is trying to reach the coast and the high mountains in the same seven days. Here is what actually fits.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-transfer-cost/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-transfer-cost/Four ways to get from Tbilisi airport into the city, with the actual numbers. The cheapest option is one lari. We are not it, and this piece is honest about when the gap is worth paying and when it is not.Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-kazbegi-by-car/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-kazbegi-by-car/A private driver from Tbilisi to Kazbegi costs a full day at our published rate. The real drive time to Stepantsminda, when one day is too much, going straight from Tbilisi airport, the winter pass, and when the marshrutka wins.Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/which-georgian-airport/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/which-georgian-airport/Three international airports, three very different propositions, and a choice too often made on fare alone. The cheapest arrival is frequently the one that costs a day of the holiday on the road.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/hire-car-with-driver-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/hire-car-with-driver-georgia/The phrase covers four different products at four different prices, and most booking confusion comes from the gap between them. What you are actually hiring, what the day includes, and the questions that separate a real quote from a guess.Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/bakuriani-ski-transfer/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/bakuriani-ski-transfer/A Tbilisi to Bakuriani transfer is about three hours by car, and Kutaisi airport to Bakuriani is about the same. The road through Borjomi, the winter tyre law, the train that is not back yet, and what the day costs.Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/car-rental-or-chauffeur/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/car-rental-or-chauffeur/We are a chauffeur company, so treat this with the suspicion it deserves. There are trips where renting a car is plainly the better decision, and there are three where it reliably is not. The dividing line is not budget.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-ride-hail/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-ride-hail/The app most travellers arrive with does not work in Georgia. Two others do, they are cheap, and they fail in specific ways at the airport. An honest account from a company that would rather you booked a car.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-sighnaghi-by-car/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-sighnaghi-by-car/A transfer from Tbilisi to Sighnaghi is about 110 kilometres and under two hours. What a Kakheti day with a driver costs, the marshrutka and taxi alternatives, and the one day the cheaper options stop making sense.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/gudauri-winter-arrival/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/gudauri-winter-arrival/Everyone writes about the lifts and the powder. Nobody writes about the last hour of road, which is the part that decides whether a guest reaches the hotel that evening. Winter driving on the Military Highway, honestly.Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-yerevan-by-road/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-yerevan-by-road/Two capitals, 280 kilometres and one border. The train takes ten hours, the marshrutka takes six, and the car takes five. Which to pick, what the Sadakhlo crossing is actually like, and where a Tbilisi chauffeur fits in.Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/wedding-car-hire-tbilisi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/wedding-car-hire-tbilisi/Wedding car hire in Tbilisi without a stretch limousine: which of four cars suits the couple, the parents and the guests of honour, how to plan the addresses and the waiting, and why the price is agreed per wedding.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-to-gudauri/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-to-gudauri/Booking the flight first and the transfer last is the wrong order for a ski trip. About three hours from the terminal to the resort, one of them on a pass that closes, and a winter tyre law with a date on it.Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-mestia-transfer/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-mestia-transfer/A Tbilisi to Mestia private transfer is about 450 kilometres: officially 7 hours 10 minutes, so allow eight or more. The Kutaisi airport to Mestia transfer is roughly half. The mountain road, the flight and its price, the minibus, and why Mestia is quoted.Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/vardzia-day-trip/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/vardzia-day-trip/A twelfth-century monastery carved into a cliff in the far south, about 225 kilometres from the capital. It is a genuine long day rather than an afternoon, and the drive there is half the reason to go.Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/driving-in-georgia-yourself/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/driving-in-georgia-yourself/Your licence is valid for a year from the day you crossed the border, an international permit is not legally required, and winter tyres are. The paperwork, the rules with dates attached, and an honest read on the driving itself.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/batumi-airport-arrivals/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/batumi-airport-arrivals/Batumi has its own airport, it sits close to the city, and it behaves differently from the other two Georgian airports. It fills in summer and empties in winter, and the schedule shapes what a transfer there is worth.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-itinerary-10-days/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-itinerary-10-days/A 10-day Georgia itinerary that reaches the mountains, the wine country and the west, from Tbilisi airport and back. The driving time of each day, the cost at published rates, and the legs that work without a car.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/private-driver-day-rate-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/private-driver-day-rate-georgia/Day rates in Georgia run from a small fraction of ours to well over two thousand lari, for what looks like the same service. The published numbers, what separates the tiers, and the four questions that decide which end of the range a quote belongs at.Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/business-trip-to-tbilisi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/business-trip-to-tbilisi/Visa-free entry for 94 countries, an insurance rule in force since January 2026, a last airport bus at 22:59 and a working day that ends at dinner. What a corporate booker should settle before a Tbilisi trip.Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-batumi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-batumi/Four ways to cross Georgia from the capital to the coast, with the real numbers for each. The train is genuinely good. The flight is longer than it looks on paper. The drive is not the fastest option, and we will say so.Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/luxury-car-hire-tbilisi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/luxury-car-hire-tbilisi/Searches for premium self-drive hire in Tbilisi outnumber the cars that exist. What the market really offers, why the insurance maths rarely works, and the honest case for the chauffeured version.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-history-and-culture/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-history-and-culture/Georgia's history and culture, checked against the sources: wine residue from about 6000 BC, a conversion dated to 337, a medieval golden age and three living alphabets, with the day trips from Tbilisi that reach each one.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/kutaisi-airport-transfers/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/kutaisi-airport-transfers/Kutaisi is where the cheap flights land, and it is nowhere near most of what guests came to see. Four roads leave that terminal. Tbilisi, Batumi, Gudauri, and Mestia, with the real driving times and the one arrival that catches concierges out.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-baku-by-road/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-to-baku-by-road/Azerbaijan's land border has been closed to arriving passengers since March 2020, and the closure keeps being renewed. Plenty of pages still describe a bus over Red Bridge. What is actually possible between the two capitals, and how to check before you plan.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/english-speaking-driver-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/english-speaking-driver-georgia/English is common among younger Georgians in the capital and thin outside it. Russian still carries further. What that means for a day on the road, and the three moments where the driver's language stops being a convenience.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/inside-the-maybach/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/inside-the-maybach/The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is not a more expensive S-Class. The engine and the dashboard are similar; the rear cabin is the entire product. What an 18-centimetre longer wheelbase, a Maybach drive mode and electric comfort doors actually mean for the passenger.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/the-chauffeur-role/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/the-chauffeur-role/The car is the visible part. The driver is the part that decides whether the trip works. What a good chauffeur knows beyond the road, what they should handle without asking, and the three things a concierge can do to make them more useful.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/maybach-eqs-680/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/maybach-eqs-680/The fleet is four cars, and two of them are Maybachs. One is the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680, an electric SUV, at the same rates as the saloon. What it is, what it is not, and which of the two Maybachs to ask for.Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-afternoon/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-afternoon/The awkward window: meeting one ends at 2pm, meeting two starts at 5pm, the guest does not want to sit in the hotel lobby. What to do with three hours that is honest, off the tourist trail, and finishes on time.Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/airport-vip-arrivals/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/airport-vip-arrivals/Tbilisi airport sells its own Meet & Greet, from the gate to the car, plus a Fast Track lane and a lounge by Gate 101. Worth booking, sometimes. The four scenarios where the premium pays back, the four where it does not, and how to book it.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-transit-layover/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-transit-layover/A layover at Tbilisi airport is not the layover at Heathrow. The airport sits 17 kilometres from the city, customs is fast, and an 8-hour transit can mean something. The math of what fits, the four sensible options, and the one a concierge should never agree to.Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/borjomi-in-a-day/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/borjomi-in-a-day/The other direction. Kakheti is east, Kazbegi is north, Mtskheta is also north. Borjomi is west, about 160 kilometres, two to two and a half hours each way, and a different Georgia. What the trip is, when it works, when it doesn't.Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/kutaisi-day-trip/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/kutaisi-day-trip/Everyone goes east to Kakheti or north to Kazbegi. West gets skipped. Kutaisi is 220 kilometres west, a full long day, and holds two of the country's older churches plus the road to them. When it's worth the seven hours of driving, and when it isn't.Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/rtveli-in-kakheti/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/rtveli-in-kakheti/Between early September and mid-October, the wine roads of Kakheti turn into something else. Not a route, an event. What rtveli actually is, which cellars to ask, and why this is the trip that needs booking three months ahead.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/anaklia-port-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/anaklia-port-georgia/The Anaklia deepwater port has been promised for more than a decade. In 2026 the state took it over under a landlord model, dredging began in August, and the first stage is due in 2029. What it is, what it does, and why the next decade hinges on it.Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/off-season-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/off-season-georgia/Georgia's autumn quarter set a record of 1.2 million tourist trips in 2025, growing faster than the year as a whole. What the numbers show, when May, September and winter work, and the trip shape that suits each off-season.Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-wine-in-the-world/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-wine-in-the-world/Georgian wine exports surpassed 100 million bottles in 2024, with Decanter, IWSC and Concours Mondial medals rising in step. The country is now the 17th-largest exporter by volume. What is selling, where, and why Georgian wine became unignorable.Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/hospitality-fdi-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/hospitality-fdi-georgia/Foreign direct investment in Georgia's hotels and restaurants came to about $40 million a year in 2023-2025, some 2 percent of the total. Who builds the country's hotels, where the money lands, and what the second-tier opportunities look like.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/gulf-india-georgia-market/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/gulf-india-georgia-market/The Gulf states sent Georgia 145,513 visits in 2025 and India 142,476, before both fell sharply in early 2026. The official figures, the entry rules for each passport, the direct flights, and where a chauffeur fits.Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-expansion/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-expansion/TAV Airports is investing about USD 150 million to lift Tbilisi airport's capacity past ten million passengers a year. The project was launched in July 2026 and is due to finish as early as 2028. What is being built, and how to plan an arrival meanwhile.Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/rikoti-tunnel-georgia/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/rikoti-tunnel-georgia/Since 30 December 2025 the Rikoti pass, where Georgia's main road crosses from east to west, has been 52 kilometres of four-lane highway with 51 tunnels and 97 bridges. What the old road was like, who paid for the new one, and what it changes for a trip.Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/wine-tourism-revolution/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/wine-tourism-revolution/A decade ago Kakheti was a regional wine area visited mostly by Georgians on weekends. Today it has international press, premium cellar-hotels, and a UNESCO-protected method at the centre of its story. What changed.Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-hotel-pipeline/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-hotel-pipeline/GNTA counts more than 340 new accommodation establishments, with 38,800 beds, due in Georgia between 2026 and 2029. What has opened in Tbilisi, what is announced, and why concierges should know the city's hotel map.Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-tourism-reset/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/georgia-tourism-reset/In 2020 Georgia took 1.5 million visitors. In 2025 it took nearly seven million, with record numbers of overnight tourists and record travel revenue from a wider spread of countries. The numbers, the reasons, and what they mean.Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/v-class-for-groups/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/v-class-for-groups/Two travellers and three bags fit in an S-Class. Four travellers and ten bags do not. When a minivan with a driver, the seven-seat V-Class, becomes the right answer in Tbilisi, and when two saloons still beat it.Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/sulfur-baths/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/sulfur-baths/Abanotubani's bathhouses are not interchangeable. The best known by name, private rooms against the public baths, what the kisa scrub is, the price ranges the tourism administration publishes, and the etiquette worth knowing first.Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-old-town/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-old-town/Maps draw the old town as a triangle from Freedom Square to the river. The medieval city ran along one line of streets, from Anchiskhati past Sioni Cathedral to Meidan, and that line is the one-hour walk worth taking.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-hotels-we-drive-to-most/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-hotels-we-drive-to-most/A hotel name is not an address. Where eight central Tbilisi hotels sit, from Freedom Square along Rustaveli Avenue to Kostava Street and the old town, what they publish about their entrances, and what to ask before a car pulls up.Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/multi-day-chauffeur/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/multi-day-chauffeur/Single-day briefs ask for car class and meeting point. Multi-day briefs need four fields the single-day version never names: driver downtime, fuel reload, lunch protocol, and route control. The version we wish every multi-day brief had.Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-border-crossings/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-border-crossings/Three crossings reach three countries from Tbilisi. Choosing the wrong one can cost hours. Which crossing for which trip, what to carry, and where we fit in.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/svaneti-by-road/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/svaneti-by-road/The road to Mestia is paved now, but at Lentekhi the asphalt narrows and the cellphone signal disappears for the next forty kilometres. The honest version of the Svaneti road trip from Tbilisi: routes, towers, what goes wrong, and when the V-Class handles it.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/military-highway-shoulder-season/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/military-highway-shoulder-season/May and late September are the two windows where the Cross Pass is open, the tour buses are gone, and the wildflowers above Gudauri don't yet have anyone photographing them. The case for skipping peak summer on Georgia's most famous road.Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/alaverdi-monastery-cellar/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/alaverdi-monastery-cellar/The qvevri buried beneath Alaverdi have been making wine for centuries. What the eight-thousand-year claim actually means, what a visit looks like, and how to pair it with Ikalto for the deepest wine-history day in Kakheti.Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/telavi-as-a-base/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/telavi-as-a-base/Sighnaghi gets the postcards and the day-trip crowds; Telavi gets the wineries within twenty minutes of breakfast. The case for the other Kakheti base and the three hotels that earn the slot.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/booking-brief/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/booking-brief/A transfer can fail at the brief before it reaches the road. The seven fields we ask concierges and corporate bookers for, what each one buys you, and the side-by-side of a brief that works against one that creates a phone call at 7am.Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/sighnaghi-day-trip/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/sighnaghi-day-trip/The shorter Kakheti. One walled town on a ridge, one monastery, one cellar, back to Tbilisi for dinner. What the wine-roads piece does in two days, this version does in one (and what you give up to make that work).Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/mtskheta-half-day/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/mtskheta-half-day/A half-day from Tbilisi: the 20 kilometres north, the two churches that earn the trip, the part that looks essential but is not, and the timing that decides whether it works as an afternoon or has to be a morning.Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/kazbegi-from-tbilisi/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/kazbegi-from-tbilisi/A practical read on the Tbilisi-Kazbegi day trip: the Military Highway in shoulder season, Gergeti Trinity at golden hour, Gudauri without skiing, and the parts that look essential on paper but are not.Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-transfer-playbook/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/tbilisi-airport-transfer-playbook/What concierges and corporate bookers actually need from a Tbilisi airport pickup. Flight buffers, flexible windows, the early-morning question, and the short list of things that go wrong.Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/wine-roads-of-kakheti/https://www.soitblack.com/en/blog/wine-roads-of-kakheti/A discreet road guide to Kakheti's qvevri cellars and the slow way from Tbilisi. What the bus tours miss, where the motorway ends, and which cellars are worth the drive.Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT